Cherie Walker, a 34 year old Oklahoma mother, was sentenced on Friday, October 30, to seven consecutive life sentences after her 11 year old daughter gave birth to a baby fathered by the girl’s stepfather.
Muskogee County District Judge Timothy King handed down the sentence, matching what jurors recommended in July. That jury found Walker guilty on all seven felony counts against her: one count of enabling child sexual abuse and six counts of child neglect. Because the sentences run consecutively, she will serve them one after another rather than at the same time.
The case began on August 16, 2025, when emergency crews were called to the family’s home in Muskogee. Responders found that the girl had just delivered a full term baby inside the house. She had received no prenatal care and no medical help during the birth.
Prosecutors first charged Cherie Walker and her husband, Dustin Walker, with child neglect for failing to provide the girl with supervision or medical care. Then DNA testing confirmed that Dustin, the girl’s stepfather, was the baby’s father. The charges were amended. Dustin was charged with sexual abuse of a child under 12, and Cherie was charged with enabling child sexual abuse.
Both parents told investigators they had no idea the girl was pregnant until she gave birth. Prosecutors did not accept that. They argued Cherie Walker knew her husband was sexually abusing her daughter and did nothing to stop it. Prosecutor Janet Hutson also revealed the child had not been taken to a doctor in more than a year, which meant no physician was in a position to notice the pregnancy or the abuse.
“This child is traumatized,” Hutson said when the charges were first filed. “She’s been through a horrific ordeal.”
Dustin Walker did not go to trial. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced in June to life in prison, along with additional prison terms on his child neglect counts: 15 years on the first count, five years on each of four others, and seven years on the last.
Made to order and shipped to your door.
Cherie Walker took her case to a jury, and on July 17, 2026, jurors convicted her on every count and recommended life in prison on each one. Friday’s hearing made that recommendation official. With seven life terms stacked back to back, Cherie Walker is not expected to ever leave prison.
The girl’s grandmother, Michelle Justus, was also charged in connection with the case, making her the third person to face prosecution. The current status of her case has not been made public.
In a statement after the sentencing, the Muskogee County District Attorney’s Office thanked the jury along with the medical personnel, emergency responders and Muskogee police investigators who worked the case from the day the girl gave birth.
